Steve Warren

Big kids' counsel

By DANIEL FRANKEL

The press-shy Harvard Law School grad Steve Warren politely declined to be interviewed for this profile, partly for fear that his practice at Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren & Richman might be too narrowly defined as youth-centric.

Warren is considered one of Hollywood's top actor reps in general, handling adult clients including Christina Applegate, Drew Barrymore, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kirsten Dunst, Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon.

Of course, those actors all started out in the business fairly young. And regardless of how he defines himself, Warren does seem to enjoy a surfeit of successful transition stories within his client roster.

Consider Dakota Fanning, the 14-year-old heavyweight, now venturing into more mature fare, such as the R-rated indie "Hounddog." At the film's 2007 Sundance premiere, the attorney could be seen ushering his young client down the red carpet like a protective parent. A father himself, Warren has earned that invaluable reputation within the youth biz of someone who sincerely supports his young charges and knows how to talk to them.

And while he might not be actively seeking more teen clients, Warren has also done right by such youngsters as Fanning's sister Elle and "Everybody Hates Chris" star Tyler James Williams, largely because he considers their talents in much the same terms as those of the adults he represents.

According to colleagues within the industry, Warren takes interest in his clients' careers and not just their deals, doing the diligence of seeing films and reading scripts so he knows what his clients are getting into.

"He cares about kids personally," says Fanning's agent, Cindy Osbrink. "I think the simple fact that he's willing just to call to say, 'Hi, what's going on?' shows that. He's also one of the toughest attorneys out there as far as dealmaking and getting what's fair."

Recent breakthrough: He doesn't take on many kid clients, but has guided young stars like Leonardo DiCarprio, Kirsten Dunst and Tobey Maguire into adulthood.